Take a look at your hands. Do you count eight fingers and two opposable thumbs? Human’s bodies have evolved over millions of years into what they are today, and our hands have played a large part in the evolution of Homo sapiens. The Homo naledi had a very similar hand structure to what humans see when they look at theirs, yet there is still the question of the Homo naledi being a species. The Homo naledi isn’t a new species, but only a hope for a team of scientists wishing to find the next big discovery.
The Homo naledi was found in South Africa, around 50 kilometers outside the city of Johannesburg. It was discovered in a cave named Rising Star in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site; which is how Homo naledi acquired its name because naledi means star. The exploration team was formed by Lee Berger and consisted of scientists of the Witwatersrand University and volunteer cavers. The team was met with immediate gratification when just 90 meters from the cave entrance they discovered what they suspected was a skeleton of an individual. The exploration team then moved into a chamber connected to the …show more content…
According to Christopher Walker of Duke University, the Homo naledi and Homo erectus not only have a skull that looks alike, but they also share similar tooth features. Tea Jashashvili of Witwatersrand added that some of the upper-body characteristics Berger’s team identified could have possibly occurred in the West Asian Homo erectus (Bower).
Another species that has somewhat identical features to the Homo naledi is the Australopithecus. Elen Feuerriegel of the Australian National University in Canberra stated that the Homo naledi’s collarbone and upper arm both look like the Australopithecus. The hand of the Homo naledi is a mixture of a human wrist and thumb but has curved fingers like the Australopithecus
The Homo naledi was found in South Africa, around 50 kilometers outside the city of Johannesburg. It was discovered in a cave named Rising Star in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site; which is how Homo naledi acquired its name because naledi means star. The exploration team was formed by Lee Berger and consisted of scientists of the Witwatersrand University and volunteer cavers. The team was met with immediate gratification when just 90 meters from the cave entrance they discovered what they suspected was a skeleton of an individual. The exploration team then moved into a chamber connected to the …show more content…
According to Christopher Walker of Duke University, the Homo naledi and Homo erectus not only have a skull that looks alike, but they also share similar tooth features. Tea Jashashvili of Witwatersrand added that some of the upper-body characteristics Berger’s team identified could have possibly occurred in the West Asian Homo erectus (Bower).
Another species that has somewhat identical features to the Homo naledi is the Australopithecus. Elen Feuerriegel of the Australian National University in Canberra stated that the Homo naledi’s collarbone and upper arm both look like the Australopithecus. The hand of the Homo naledi is a mixture of a human wrist and thumb but has curved fingers like the Australopithecus